CSRATA Junior League Rules

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The CSRATA abides by the USTA’s (United States Tennis Association) USA Team Tennis, Southern Section and Georgia Tennis Association Regulations. We encourage captains and players to read and familiarize themselves with these regulations, the USTA’s Rules of Tennis and “The Code”. (The Code is the USTA’s official publication for all matches without officials.) Links to the rules and regulations can be found on www.csratennis.com by clicking on “Rules and Regulations”. Players and/or teams outside of Richmond and Columbia County are allowed to participate, subject of approval by Junior League Coordinator. All home matches shall take place at Richmond and Columbia County tennis facilities.

I. Teams and Players

A.   Membership

1.   All team members must be members of the USTA and the membership must be valid through the end of the current season.

2.   All team members must register on TennisLink (https://teamtennis.usta.com/Main/RegisterPlayers.aspx) and pay a $20 CSRATA Junior Tennis League fee plus a $3 TennisLink fee prior to playing a match.

3.   Any points won by a player whose USTA membership expires during a season are taken away from his or her team and awarded to the opposing team.

B.   Age Eligibility

1.   The date for eligibility for the spring league is April 15, 2008.

2.   Play in the age group that relates to your age before that date. For example, if you turn 13 in February, you will play in the 14 & Under division for the spring. If you turn 13 in May, you will play in the 12 & Under division for the spring. You may always play in a higher age group.

3.   Juniors born before April 15, 1990 are not eligible to play junior team tennis unless they still attend high school. They are not eligible for the 2008 district championships in mid July.

C.   Court Availability

1.   Courts have been arranged and reserved for you per the JTL Match Schedule. Please refer to this schedule to determine your match location.

2.   It is advisable for the HOME captain to contact the match facility to confirm that courts have been reserved a few days prior to each match.

3.   If a match has to be re-scheduled, please make every attempt to re-schedule at the original match facility. If the match changes location, notify the JTL coordinator (Michele Scott). These facilities are paid based on usage.

4.   Each JTL match will be given 2-3 courts to complete 5 matches at each facility depending upon availability.

D.   Rosters

1.   Each roster must be registered on TennisLink with a minimum of six players—three boys and three girls. To avoid forfeits, at least five boys and five girls are recommended.

2.   Only one boy and one girl can play two positions per match. However, you may only schedule a player in two positions when all other players of the same gender on the team have in an equal or greater number of completed matches during a season. The intention of this rule is to clearly encourage a FAIR rotation of players. "Stacking" your players and trying to "manipulate" the system in order to gain extra points is definitely discourage and not in keeping with the philosophy of JTL.

3.   It is also STRONGLY recommended to rotate your singles players each week.  Every child who wishes to play singles should be given a chance to play singles if at all possible! Do not play your strongest singles player each week just to try to get more points! Again, JTL is trying to maximize fun and love of tennis for as many kids as possible!

E. Add-Ons

1.      A team may add players until February 15, 2008. After that, only add-ons for injuries may occur.

2.      The Junior League Coordinator must approve all add-ons after the Team Captains’ Meeting.

3.   A player may not be added to a team if his or her rating is higher than the level the team is playing.

F. Ineligible Player

Any person not listed on a roster in accordance with these rules is ineligible to play.

G. Player Participation

1.   All players must play two matches during a season.

2.   Two matches must be played to play in the play-offs.

3.   A win by forfeit counts towards a player’s eligibility.

4.   It is suggested that you rotate singles players evenly throughout the season. Everyone on your team should have a chance to play singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

II. Captains

A. Team Captain

1.   Each team must have a team captain.

2.   Rotating team captains may be used for scheduling the matches and only trained parents or juniors approved by the league should be in charge of a dual meet.

3.   Team captains listed on the match schedule must be accessible to all teams in the division and to the Junior League Coordinator.

4.   Team captains may be captain of one team only.

5.   Professionals may not be team captains, assistant team captains or scorekeepers. They should only provide instructions to the players.

B. Team Captains’ Meeting Attendance

A team whose captain or team representative does not attend the Team Captains’ Meeting will be defaulted from the league.

III. Dual Meets

A. Match Time

All dual meets start at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Warm-up begins at 1:45 p.m.

B. Format

Dual meets consist of one boys’ singles, one girls’ singles, one boys’ doubles, one girls’ doubles and one mixed doubles (in that order).

C. Setting Up Matches

1.   The home team captain contacts the visiting team captain at least four days prior to dual meetings to discuss directions, court reservations, etc. You are encouraged to work out any time or line-up conflicts.

2.   With the agreement of both captains, matches may be played earlier than the scheduled date. They may not, however, be played after the scheduled date.

3.   If a captain is unavailable for a match, a designated replacement who knows the rules and regulations must be named.

4.   All matches (including rescheduled matches) must be played at the facility named on the match schedule unless otherwise approved by the League Coordinator.

5. The team captain calls the opposing team’s captain as soon as he or she knows that any or all individual matches will be forfeited. This prevents inconveniencing the opposing team’s players.

D. Line-Ups / Scorecards

1.   Blank scorecards should be printed from TennisLink, line-ups completed on scorecard, and exchanged 10 minutes before the scheduled match time.

2.        Last-minute substitutions may be made only in the event of illness, injury or absence of a player.

3.   Substitutions may not be made after a point has been played in that position.

4.   Team captains record the results of each individual match on the scorecard, verify, and agree on match scores at the completion of the match.

5.   The home team captain enters the match scores on TennisLink unless otherwise agreed on by both captains. The visiting team captain verifies the match scores on TennisLink.

6.   Match Scores must be entered and verified within 48 hours of the completion of the match. After 48 hours, TennisLink automatically verifies match scores for unverified matches. The opposing team loses all rights to contest any score discrepancies.

E. Rules of Play

1.   USTA rules and regulations govern play.

2.   “The Code,” a handbook of ethics and fair play, should be understood and followed by every captain and player.

3.   A copy of USTA rules and regulations, CSRATA rules and “The Code” should be available at all dual meets. All of the rules and regulations can be found on www.csratennis.com under Rules an Regulations.

4.   Captains are responsible for making sure a replacement has these documents.

F. Defaults

The 15-minute default rule is in effect for all scheduled matches. The default rule is in effect when a court becomes available for that match. Please be as lenient as possible — within reason — about defaults.

G. Balls

1.   The home team provides USTA-approved balls for each court.

2.   Captains may want to bring an extra can of balls in case an additional court becomes available.

H. Warm-up

Warm up is limited to five minutes including practice serves.

I. Coaching

1.   Coaching is illegal.

2.   Captains, teammates, spectators or coaches may not volunteer advice on line calls or scoring.

3.   Cheering or excessive clapping is not permitted. Please refer to the Behavior Guidelines for Parents.

4.   Both team captains are responsible for controlling spectators’ conduct during match play.

5.   It is acceptable during the first three weeks of play to assist the 10 & 12 Under division players since they may need help in scoring, rotation of serve, etc.

6.   Parents may not be on the same court as their child. It is acceptable for the captain to help with the tiebreak in all age groups. In the older age groups, you may explain the tiebreak one time and then must leave the court.

J. Courts

1.   If the home team is unable to provide courts for any scheduled dual meet, the visiting team has first option of providing courts. (The host team is considered the home team.)

2.   If the visiting team does not elect to provide courts, the responsibility reverts to the home team, which must provide courts within the approved league area at the scheduled time.

K. Alcoholic Beverages

Spectators at junior matches should not consume alcoholic beverages.

L. Refreshments

Most tennis facilities (except Warren Road, Lakeside High School, and Fleming) provide cups, ice, and water. Please make sure the players have water before they walk onto the court.

M. Awards

At the conclusion of a season, the team with the most games won is declared the division winner. League or division winners receive trophies and are eligible to participate in the play-offs for the Georgia Junior State Championships.

N. Play-offs

Play-offs may be held at the end of each season with the top teams in each division competing against each other. (This requires two or more divisions in the same skill level.) The number of teams that go to the play-offs depends on the number of teams in that division. The Junior League Coordinator assists with scheduling play-off matches.

O. Georgia Junior State Championships

Any team that participates in the fall or spring league is eligible to play in the Georgia Junior State Championships. Winners of the Georgia Junior State Championships play in the Georgia-Florida championships.

IV. Scoring

A. Format

All matches are eight-game, no-add pro sets (first player to win eight games by a two-game margin) with a tiebreak at 8-8. (Do not play a tiebreak at 7-7.)

B. Team Points

The total number of games won is counted for the winner and loser. NO BONUS POINTS ARE AWARDED. The maximum number of points for any position is nine. The maximum total points per match are 45.

C. No-Ad Scoring

D. Tiebreaks

If a set reaches 8-8, players must play a tiebreak. The order of serving is the same as it was at the start of the match.

 

In doubles, the first server serves one point from the right side. The second server serves two points starting from the left side and ending on the right side. The third server serves two points starting on the left and ending on the right side. The fourth server serves one point from the left side and then players change ends of the courts. The fourth server serves one point from the right side. Play continues in such a manner until one team wins at least seven points with a two-point margin. Teams change ends of the court every six points.

 

In singles, the first server serves one point from the right side. The second server serves two points starting on the left side and ending on the right side. The players continue to alternate serving two points each until one wins a minimum of seven points with a two-point margin. Players change ends of the court every six points.

V. Penalties and Forfeitures

A. Ineligible Players

If an ineligible player participates in a dual meet, all points earned by that player are forfeited.

B. Penalties

The Local League Coordinator has the authority to impose penalties and violations in situations where no penalty is provided by these rules.

C. Excessive Defaults

Dropping points often has an impact on division standings and you are strongly encouraged not to forfeit entire matches. Consider playing a practice match if your team has to forfeit a position, and use a player who has already played. (These points do not count.)

1.    Excessive defaults are defined as defaulting all points of a dual meet or averaging more than one default per dual meet.

2.    If a team has excessive defaults, all its matches will be nullified and remaining matches will be treated as byes.

D. Suspension

If a team has excessive defaults, the team may be suspended the following season. This penalty also applies to any team withdrawing after schedules have been completed.

E. Protests

1.    If the team captains cannot resolve conflicts, the Junior League Coordinator should be contacted.

2.    Submit official protests to the league in writing and to the Junior League Coordinator within seven days of the scheduled match being protested. The league normally replies within 10 days.

VI. Inclement Weather

A. Rain

1.    In the event of rain, incomplete individual matches stand as played.

2.    The same players at the exact game and point resume incomplete matches as they stood when play was halted.

3.    Line-ups for matches not started (including any position previously defaulted) may be changed provided it does not conflict with the eligible player rules.

4.    Matches must be completed in accordance with the Rain-Out Rules.

B. Rain-Out Rules

1.    In the event a match is cancelled due to rain, teams have seven days to make up the match.

2.    If a day cannot be agreed upon, the match must be played the following Friday (fifth day).

3.    If it rains on the fifth day, the match must be made up the next day there isn’t any rain.

4.    Notify the Junior League Coordinator of all rain-out matches. Give the Coordinator the date, time and place of the make-up match.

5.    Rain out of the last scheduled match of a season should be made up on the next day without rain.

6.    In the case of a rain out, it may be necessary to set up individual matches on different days to accommodate schedules.

7.    If disagreement occurs, Friday is the day for the make-up match.

C. Temperature

Teams are not obligated to play a match if the temperature is below 32° F or above 95° F. If teams decide to play, it must be the decision of both captains. Rain-Out Rules apply to rescheduling the match. There are no provisions for extreme wind.

VII. Ability Level Guidelines

Use the guidelines below to determine at which level a player should play. When in doubt, the player should play in the higher level, because the player will probably be at that level within one or two matches of the season.

Beginner

If an individual has never played a league match before or recently started playing tennis, the player is a beginner. This type of player may play in a beginner league for two seasons. (If a player has played in local sanctioned tournaments, the player is not a beginner.) If a player has played in local unsanctioned satellite tournaments and not won any matches, he or she can still be considered a beginner. All 10 & Under players can be considered a beginner unless the above criteria are clearly exceeded.

Intermediate

If a player has: played in local satellite tournaments and won a match or matches in the tournaments; been a league player for two seasons; and can sustain a three-ball rally regularly, the player is classified as an intermediate.

Advanced

An advanced player is one who: has played local tournaments and routinely wins one or more matches in his or her age group; can place the ball to different parts of the court; and understands how to win points in his or her respective age group.

VIII. Georgia Junior State Championship Regulations

1.    If a team captain or player, regardless of intent, breaks any of rules, the team is subject to disqualification and will not be allowed to attend the championships.

2.    Any team that plays in the fall or spring league is eligible to participate. If you have players that have had birthdays before the championships, you are allowed to replace them with other players who played in the fall or spring league.

3.    Recruiting additional players is only allowed with permission of the Junior League Coordinator prior to any contact being made with the other player or parent. Permission with the other team captain is normally required before recruiting additional players.

4.    A player will not be allowed to play up when a team in his or her age and skill level is in need of a player, unless that player played on the team during the league season.

5.    Missing the submittal deadline or the Team Captains’ Meeting will result in withdrawal from the championships.

IX. Georgia Junior State Championship Ability Level Determination Rules

The USTA Junior Team Tennis Program uses the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) guidelines for rating players. These guidelines are used for district championships. Parents or coaches using the NTRP guidelines below may rate players. Rate solely on ability. Do not adjust for age. Incorrectly rated players will be declared ineligible and will lose any points they may have won. The points are awarded to the opponent. It is the team captain’s and team coach’s responsibility to make sure all players are rated properly. Team placement is determined by the average NTRP rating of a team.

A. NTRP Guidelines

1.0

This is an absolutely beginning player with little or no instruction. The player holds the racket incorrectly and is inconsistent in making contact with the ball even from a set position. The player does best when placed near the net to volley tossed balls. The player is unable to coordinate footwork when hitting the ball. Few players fit this category. In most cases, only new beginner teams are considered for this level.

1.5

A 1.5 player is only slightly more advanced than a 1.0 player. He or she is still unable to coordinate moving when hitting the ball. In fact, the player is still concentrating on getting the ball over the net from a set position. This player is learning to serve and keep score.

2.0

This player is beginning to coordinate footwork when hitting the ball, but is inconsistent while hitting the ball over the net. The player can serve to some degree, but double faults frequently. This player understands scoring, serving and receiving rotation. There is some understanding of court positioning in singles and doubles.

2.5

At 2.5, the player is able to judge where the ball is going, but court coverage is still weak. A slow-paced rally can be sustained. The player double faults less than the 2.0 player. Volleys are improving, as is court coverage.

3.0

This player is getting better at moving the ball and can sustain a medium-paced rally. He or she seldom double faults, but the serve lacks depth and speed. Court coverage is good, but the player does not always have proper footwork. Control over groundstrokes isn’t good.

3.5

A rally can be sustained and the player is beginning to develop control over placement and depth of groundstrokes. The serve is beginning to have more power and the player seldom double faults. There is more aggressive play and the player understands teamwork in doubles.

4.0

The player has more control, power and depth on groundstrokes and is using more variety in shot selection by using lobs, overheads, volleys and approach shots. This player’s serve forces some errors. Court coverage is good and there is good teamwork in doubles.

4.5

The player is using more power and exhibits sound footwork. There is depth on groundstrokes, and the serve is consistent with good depth, placement and spin. The player frequently forces errors from the opponent and is aggressive in his or her style of play.

5.0

The player has one or more shots around which a game can be structured. The player can regularly hit winners or force errors off short balls. Volleys can be put away as can overheads. The serve is an offensive weapon and the second serve has good depth and spin.

B. Rules for Ranked Players

1.   Players with National or Sectional rankings or any state ranking in the top 20 must be rated 5.0 and may not play lower than 4.0.

2.   Players with a state ranking of 21-79 must be rated at least 4.0 and may not play lower than 3.5.

3.   Players with a state ranking of 80-200 must be rated at least 3.5 and may not play lower than 3.0.

4.   Players who don’t hold a ranking, but who have been previously ranked at any time, must be rated in accordance with the rules for ranked players.

5.   Rules for ranked players don't apply to Ten & Under players.

The most current ranking information is available when Georgia Junior State Championships packets are turned in so that players may be rated properly.

Call the GTA office at 404.256.9543 if you have any questions as to whether or not a player is ranked.